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PLGRMS

They’ve been slowly drip-feeding us some incredible tracks over the past couple of months, and we’re stuck here, irritably itching for more. So whilst we’re twitching at the prospect of new music from Sydney-based indie-electro duo PLGRMS, it made sense to sate our appetite by grabbing Jonathan Bowden of the band for a swift chat…

We’re massive fans of your music over here, ‘Gemini’ was an amazing track! Tell us a little about the track.

Cheers guys! Gemini is one of the signs of the zodiac and its symbol is the twin pillars. Gemini is an examination of the alter ego, an experiment in which we allow the voice of persuasion in your head is allowed to take control…a bit like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Have you always been drawn to electronic-based music?

I grew up playing a lot of “real” instruments. My dad is a piano teacher, so that was the instrument I started on and from there, I branched out into guitar and bass. I didn’t really get into electronic music until after high school. I started hanging out and writing with people who come from that world and it sort of just rubbed off on me I guess.

A lot of music that incorporates electronics can become quite interchangeable, but yours sounds really unique. What inspires your songwriting? Are you always looking for new sounds?

We like to think we sort of bridge that gap between electronic and indie rock – combining the feel and rawness of live instruments with the precision and definition of electronic music. In terms of coming up with sounds, sometimes they are really conscious choices, where we will go searching for a specific tone. Other times, it’s more the happy result of playing around and experimenting.

How did PLGRMS come together?

PLGRMS is a duo, comprised of vocalist Jacob Pearson and myself. I had written a number of songs, but I don’t have the most amazing voice. So I embarked on an online search and after a couple of weeks, stumbled across some of Jake’s videos on YouTube and was instantly taken aback with his voice. I made contact with Jake and it turned out that he only lived about an hour north of me in Sydney, which was fortuitous. So we arranged to meet up and I guess the rest is history…

Do you have a unified vision, or do you have to compromise to make it work?

Most of the time our vision is headed in a similar direction. Obviously, in any creative relationship, you will disagree and there has to be some compromise, but thus far – touch wood – we seem to be pretty unified in how we work and approach things.

Is there an EP or an album in the works? If so, what can we expect from you next?

We have a whole bunch of new stuff that we are currently recording – probably enough for an album. So a longer form release is the likely next step, but as to whether it’ll be an EP or an album, we’re unsure.

We would love for the chance to see you live, are there any tour dates lined up? Have you ever played shows in the UK?

We’re actually in the middle of an east coast tour of Australia as we speak. I know Jake has played some solo shows over the UK, although I’ve never actually even been there; I would love to, however! There are some murmurings of some UK shows in 2017, but we’ll just have to see how it plays out.

You’re an Australian band. At the moment, outside of Australia, the only Australian acts you tend to hear a lot of are bands like Tame Impala, Pond.

Your music offers something different; are bands like yours few and far between? Are there any other Australian bands that are similar to PLGRMS that we should be listening to?

There are so many Australian artists doing great things at the moment! Among them are our friends Jack Grace and Jake Meadows, who are making some incredible music, and we really love the latest single by OK Badlands (who are currently supporting us on our east coast tour of Australia).